Fastening device for a ski skin

ABSTRACT

The fastening device comprises an upper part having an opening through which a strap, which is fastened on the ski skin, can be drawn. Said upper part is connected to a lower part, which is hook-shaped and produced from a spring-elastic material, especially spring steel. Said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order to releasably fasten the ski to said end of the ski.

The invention relates to a fastening device for a ski skin, comprising an upper part having an opening through which a strap, which is fastened on the ski skin, can be drawn.

Devices for fastening a ski skin onto one end of a ski have been known for some time in different embodiments. A fastening device of this type is known from CH-A-673 399 which is a so called tail hook. This tail hook comprises a plate and a hook-shaped element, which is a part of the plate. The opening of the hook element corresponds approximately to thickness of the rear end of the ski.

CH-A-2 332 217 discloses a strap and climbing skin attachment assembly comprising a clip which is approximately U-shaped in cross section. The ski skin is connected with a strap, that is resilient and can be pulled around a rear end of the clip in order to hold the clip in place on the tail of the ski. In order to fasten the rear end of the ski skin, the strap must be tensioned. This is a disadvantage, as preferably the ski skin should be fastened to the rear end of the ski without elastic tension. As the thickness of the rear end of a ski can differ, for example between 4.2 mm to 7.0 mm, it is not possible to use this fastening device for skis with different thickness. Since a very large number of different shapes and thicknesses of ski tails are produced, a correspondingly large number of different fastening devices would have to be produced and kept in stock.

It is an object of the invention to provide a fastening device of the type mentioned, which avoids the above mentioned disadvantages. The fastening device should be suitable for skis with different thicknesses and should nevertheless be reliable and should be produced economically.

This object is achieved, in the case of a fastening device of the generic type, in that said upper part is connected to a lower part, which is hook-shaped and produced from a spring-elastic material, said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order to releasably fasten the ski skin to said end of the ski. The fastening device is therefore made Of two parts, which are connected together. The lower part is hook-shaped and can be clipped on the rear end of the ski. As this lower part is spring-elastic, it can be widened and accommodated to the thickness of the ski end. The upper part can be made of any suitable material for example of plastic. This upper part can be especially made by injection molding. The lower part can be made of a spring-elastic metal.

According a development of the invention the hook-shaped lower part is U-shaped in cross section. According to another development of the invention the lower part has a free end which is directed to the upper part, wherein there is an interspace between this free end and the upper part for receiving an end of the ski. The interspace between the free end and the upper part can vary within a large range and nevertheless a good clamping effect is guaranteed.

According to a development of the invention the lower part has a retaining part, which is inserted into an opening of the upper part and fixed in this opening. This enables an easy and quick connection of the lower part to the upper part.

The upper part and the lower part can be assembled especially easy, if according to a development of the invention the retaining part is latched in the opening of the upper part. The connection can be releasable or not releasable. According to a development of the invention the retaining part has at least one preferably several latching elements which are latched into recesses of the upper part. These recesses are preferably arranged within a channel of the upper part. The recesses may be through-holes. These latching elements can be produced for example by stamping. The latching elements are notches, latching teeth or tongues. The lower part can very economically be made of spring steel and is preferably a stamped and bent sheet metal.

Further advantageous features can be gathered from the depending patent claims, from the following description and from the drawing.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more details here bellow with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows schematically a rear end of a ski with a pushed-on fastening device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a section through the fastening device according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a cut fastening device according to the invention and

FIG. 4 is a further three-dimensional view o f the cut fastening device according to FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 shows a ski 2 with an end 5, a bottom side 3 and a top side 4. The end 5 is preferably the tail of the ski 2, but could be as well the tip of the ski. The thickness D can be variable and is preferably in the range between 4.8 mm to 6.5 mm. At the bottom side 3 of the ski 2 a ski skin 17 is attached, and preferably adhesively bound at the bottom side 3. However, other connections are possible. The ski skin 17 is preferably a climbing skin. At the ski skin 17 a strap 6 is connected, for example with the help of rivets (not shown). The strap 6 is pulled around the ski end 5 and connected within a fastening device 1. This fastening device 1 is provided with an opening 15, as shown in FIG. 2. The strap is pulled through this opening 15. A retaining edge 16 with upwardly protruding teeth fixes the strap in place. A free end of the strap 6 (not shown in the drawings) protrudes from the opening 15 and can be gripped to shorten the strap.

The fastening device 1 comprises an upper part 8 and a lower part 7. The upper part 8 is in the mounted position according to FIG. 1 arranged at the top side 4 of the ski 2. This upper part 8 is preferably made in one piece of plastic. The lower part 7 is U-shaped in cross section and is made of a spring-elastic material, preferably of spring steel. The lower part 7 is a clip with a first arm 10, a middle part 11 and a second arm 12. The second arm 12 can be tensioned to vary the interspace between this second arm 12 and the upper part 8. This hook-shaped lower part 7 can therefore be slide onto the ski 2 with variable thicknesses D. When the fastening device 1 is slide onto an end 5, the second arm 12 is deflected elastically and compressed against the bottom side 3 of the ski 2.

The middle part 11 has a length which is larger than the thickness D of the thickest ski. The length of the middle part 11 is for example 10 mm. The second arm 12 is bent upwards and comprises an upper portion 12 a which is bent upwards and a portion 12 b which is bent downwards. Between these two parts 12 a and 12 b there is an edge 12 c, which is compressed against the bottom side 3 of the ski 2 as shown in FIG. 1. The portion 12 b comprises a recess, not shown, through which the strap 6 is placed, as shown in FIG. 1. The end 5 is usually bent upwards, so that the second arm 12 is not in contact with the snow. As shown in FIG. 1, the strap 6 engages the outer side of the middle pale 11.

The first arm 10 is a retaining part and is inserted into a slot 14 of the upper part 8 and anchored in this. Preferably the first arm 10 and therefore the retaining part is latched in the slot 14. The slot 14 is a channel that is open at rear side and the front side. Laterally this slot 14 is closed. The breadth and the length of the slot 14 correspond essentially to the breadth and length of the first arm 10. The slot 14 is connected with three recesses 9, which are open at the bottom side of the upper part 8. These recesses 9 are for example circular through holes. In these recesses 9 in each case a latching element 13 is latched. The latching element 13 can be produced by a punch or stamping machine. These latching elements 13 are spring-elastic and when the first arm 10 is inserted into the slot 14 automatically latch into the recesses 9. When this has been done the lower part 7 is essentially not releasably connected to the upper part 8. The lower part 7 can therefore easily be connected with the upper part 9. For this it is only necessary to insert the lower part 7 of the first arm 10 into the slot 14.

The lower part 7 has the shape of a band, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This lower part 7 can be produced from a sheet metal with a cutting laser or a stamp machine.

List of Reference Signs

-   1 fastening device -   2 ski -   3 bottom side of the ski -   4 top side of the ski -   5 end -   6 strap -   7 lower part (hook-shaped part) -   8 upper part -   9 recess -   10 first arm -   11 middle part -   12 second arm -   12 a portion -   12 b portion -   12 c edge -   13 latching element -   14 slot -   15 opening (channel) -   16 retaining edge -   17 ski skin -   D thickness 

1. Fastening device for ski skin, comprising an upper part having an opening through which a strap, which is fastened on the ski skin, can be drawn, said upper part is connected to a lower part, which is hook-shaped and produced from a spring-elastic material, said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order to releasably fasten the ski skin to one end of the ski.
 2. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is of approximately U-shaped design in cross section.
 3. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part has a free end which is directed to the upper part, there is an interspace between this -free end and the upper part for receiving an end of the ski.
 4. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part has a retaining part which is inserted into an opening of the upper part and anchored in this opening.
 5. Fastening device according to claim 4, wherein the retaining part is latched in the opening of the upper part.
 6. Fastening device according to claim 5, wherein the retaining part has at least one preferably several latching elements which are latched into recesses of the upper part.
 7. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is made from spring steel.
 8. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is a stamped and bent sheet metal. 